Per the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), now the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), has been transferred to the Administration for Community Living (ACL) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For more information on ACL, please visit www.acl.gov. More information on NIDILRR’s new Web site will be posted soon. In the meantime, you may continue to find information regarding NIDILRR on ED.gov.

The Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems (SCIMS) program,
established in 1970, studies the course of recovery and outcomes following
the delivery of a coordinated system of care for individuals with spinal core injury (SCI).
Under this program, SCIMS centers provide comprehensive rehabilitation
services to individuals with SCI and conduct spinal cord research, including
clinical research. This includes the analysis of standardized data gathered
in collaboration with other SCIMS projects. The National Data and Statistical Center for Spinal Cord Injury
has maintained data collection for the SCIMS centers since 1984.

The project activities from these centers continued
to advance research knowledge in spinal cord injury to evaluating the
effectiveness of pushrim activated power assist wheelchairs (PAPAWs).
The leadership provided by the Model Spinal Cord Injury Centers has set
standards for assessment, treatment, and management of individuals with
SCI for the nation and the world. In cooperation with the
American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) ,
former and current project directors developed
standards for examination and neurologic classification of SCI, which was
adopted for use in the International Standards for the Classification of
Spinal Cord Injury. The Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury (WISCI) has
become the outcome standard for the measure of walking in clinical trials.
In 2003, the European Clinical Trials Group in SCI adopted the WISCI as the
major functional walking measure.

The Craig Handicap Assessment Reporting Technique (CHART)
is one of the first measures ofparticipation and the Craig Hospital Inventory of
Environmental Factors (CHIEF ), one of the first measures of environmental
factors in the disability literature. The CHART instrument is trademarked
and well-published in the premier rehabilitation journals with psychometric
data (validated with Rasch analysis). CHART has been adopted for use as an
outcome measure in numerous research studies as a measure of participation.
CHIEF has been adopted for use as an outcome measure in both the National Data
and Statistical Center for SCI and TBI. Both CHART and CHIEF have been
translated into Italian, Spanish, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and
French and used in studies around the world.

Currently, 14 SCIMS centers conduct research activities designed to
improve rehabilitative interventionsthat can help optimize levelsof community
participation, employment, and overallquality of life forindividuals with
spinal cord injury.